Claire Fraser
Claire Beauchamp Fraser 'is a nurse, later a doctor, and a time-traveller who lives both in the 20th century (where she was married to Frank Randall) and the 18th century (where she is married to Jamie Fraser). Claire, the primary first-person narrator of the ''Outlander ''universe, is compassionate but medically ruthless, with a hopeless tendency to need rescuing and a quick tongue. Her favorite exclamation is "Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ!", said over fifty times in the novels. As of the latest novel in the series, Claire is in 1778, alive and well in Philadelphia, a six-times grandmother and published physician. Personal History Claire Beauchamp was born to Henry Beauchamp and Julia Moriston on 20 October 1918. Her parents died in a car accident when she was only five, and Claire was adopted by her uncle, Quentin Lambert Beauchamp, an archaeologist and historian whose work took him all over the globe. He attempted to enroll her at an English boarding school, but she stubbornly refused to attend. :"Faced with the necessity of prying my chubby fingers off the car's door handle and dragging me by the heels up the steps of the school, Uncle Lamb, who hated personal conflict of any kind, had sighed in exasperation, then finally shrugged and tossed his better judgment out the window along with my newly purchased round straw boater." - Claire, ''Outlander (Chapter One) Claire consequently spent her childhood traveling the world with her uncle while he worked, becoming accustomed to fairly primitive conditions. She later claims that her first kiss was at the age of eight, in Egypt with the dragoman's nine-year-old son. Claire's Marriage to Frank Claire met Frank Wolverton Randall, also an historian, when he came to consult her uncle about his work. They were soon married, and spent a brief two-day honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, followed by only a few months together before the outbreak of World War II. Claire and Frank were separated for most of the war. Frank trained as an officer in MI-6, and Claire as a nurse. Both served their country in their respective roles for the duration of the war. Once the war was over, Claire and Frank, reunited, decided to go on a second honeymoon in Scotland to reestablish their marriage (1946). They chose Mrs. Baird's B&B in Inverness, a city in the Scottish Highlands situated near an ancient stone circle called Craigh na Dun. Events of the Novels 'Warning: The information in the following tabs reveals major plot points in the ''Outlander novels. Proceed at your own risk. Claire Fraser/Outlander|Outlander Claire Fraser/Dragonfly in Amber|Dragonfly in Amber Claire Fraser/Voyager|Voyager Claire Fraser/Drums of Autumn|Drums of Autumn Claire Fraser/The Fiery Cross|The Fiery Cross Claire Fraser/A Breath of Snow and Ashes|A Breath of Snow and Ashes Claire Fraser/An Echo in the Bone|An Echo in the Bone Personality Physical Appearance Claire's defining physical features include her extremely curly hair and golden-colored eyes. She often remarks to herself (and other characters observe it of her as well) that her hair, when unfettered by pins or ribbons, is wildly large and curly, and frequently breaks free of its bonds when she is agitated or engaged in physical activity. At the beginning of the series, she observes that her hair is light brown, though later in life it takes on lighter streaks of gold and silver. Her eyes are variously described as amber, golden, golden-brown, the color of well-aged sherry or whisky, and compared to those of a hawk or leopard. Claire's Uncle Lamb had told her that her mother's eyes had been the same color. She has a naturally pale complexion, often described as so white as to be translucent, though her skin tans to a soft light brown after long periods of time spent outdoors. She is of an average modern height at five feet, six inches, though she is taller than most women of the 18th century. Relationships Name Claire is the French form of Clara, which itself is the Feminine form of the Late Latin name Clarus which meant "clear, bright, famous".Claire name meaning -- BehindtheName.comClara name meaning -- BehindtheName.com 'Beauchamp '(English (or Norman origin) and French) is a habitational name from any of several places in France, for example in Manche and Somme, that are named with Old French beu, bel ‘fair’, ‘lovely’ + champ(s) ‘field’, ‘plain’. In English the surname is generally pronounced "Beecham". Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press, via Ancestry.com Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:18th century characters Category:20th century characters Category:Fraser Clan Category:Time Travellers Category:Characters in Dragonfly in Amber Category:Characters in Voyager Category:Characters in Drums of Autumn Category:Characters in The Fiery Cross Category:Characters in A Breath of Snow and Ashes Category:Characters in An Echo in the Bone Category:Characters in Outlander (novel) Trivia *Jamie has two main endearments by which he addresses Claire: **''Sassenach'', which is a Gaelic term used to refer to English people, or outsiders. It is often used as a derogatory term, but Jamie calls Claire affectionately by it. **''Mo nighean donn,'' which means "my brown-haired lass" in the Gaelic. *In Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber, Jamie calls Claire mo duinne, however this is not quite the right Gaelic translation for "my brown-haired lass". When Diana Gabaldon wrote and published the first two novels in the early 1990s, she had very limited access to Gaelic language resources, but by the time she was writing Voyager, a native speaker had helpfully corrected her usage, and mo nighean donn should be considered the correct form of the endearment for the entire series. TV Series Irish actress Caitriona Balfe will portray Claire Randall in the upcoming STARZ Outlander Television Series. References Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:18th century characters Category:20th century characters Category:Fraser Clan Category:Time Travellers Category:Characters in Dragonfly in Amber Category:Characters in Voyager Category:Characters in Drums of Autumn Category:Characters in The Fiery Cross Category:Characters in A Breath of Snow and Ashes Category:Characters in An Echo in the Bone Category:Characters in Outlander (novel)